Under the Sun: The Letters of Bruce Chatwin - Softcover

Chatwin, Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143120387 ISBN 13: 9780143120384

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2012

Synopsis

"Wonderful...the closest we are ever going to get to a Chatwin autobiography."
-William Dalrymple, The Times Literary Supplement (London)

The celebrated author of such beloved works as In Patagonia and The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin was a nomad whose desire for adventure and enlightenment was made wholly evident by his writing. This marvelous selection of letters-to his wife, to his parents, and to friends, including Patrick Leigh Fermor, James Ivory, and Paul Theroux- reveals a passionate man and a storyteller par excellence. Written with the verve and sharpness of expression that first marked him as an author of singular talent, Chatwin's letters provide a window into his remarkable life and strikingly detailed insights regarding his literary ambitions and tastes.

About this title

About the Author

Bruce Chatwin (1940–1989) was the author of In Patagonia, The Viceroy of Ouidah, On the Black Hill, The Songlines, and Utz. His other books are What Am I Doing Here and Anatomy of Restlessness, posthumous anthologies of shorter works, and Far Journeys, a collection of his photographs that also includes selections from his travel notebooks.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This compilation of correspondence is aptly titled. British travel writer and novelist Chatwin traveled widely, constantly, and obsessively—everywhere under the sun, in other words. He possessed a restless soul, to be sure. And to a large degree, he was secretive; information about his homosexuality and his affliction with the AIDS virus was closely guarded. He cast a personal spell with his charm and a lasting one through his works, which are so imaginative they are pure excitement to read; at the same time, however, it can be confusing to determine whether to see them as fiction or nonfiction. Nevertheless, beginning with his first published book, In Patagonia (1977), Chatwin maintained a reputation among discerning readers for his riveting characters—invented or not is unimportant, even in his travel books—and his rigorously precise writing style. Chatwin’s wife and his biographer (Bruce Chatwin, 2000) combined efforts over a two-decade period to retrieve more than 90 percent of Chatwin’s correspondence from childhood to immediately before his untimely death at 48. Chatwin’s many appreciators will see the compilation in its overall significance as a personal visit with one of their literary heroes, as much as that is possible now. --Brad Hooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0143120387
• ISBN 13: 9780143120384
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560
• Editor: Shakespeare Nicholas, Chatwin Elizabeth